This is essentially the same game as the original, but expanded into more chapters. The original serves as chapter 1. With that said Shenmue II seems more grand and epic than the original. The world is huge. These games were ahead of their time.

It is difficult to describe Shenmue 2 with one word because the game deserves nothing less than a series of brilliant adjectives; beautiful, ground-breaking and ambitious. The game proves a worthy, and in some ways (which will be mentioned further on in the review) improved, successor of the Dreamcast classic Shenmue. Firstly, I am grateful for being born in London and thus, having theIt is difficult to describe Shenmue 2 with one word because the game deserves nothing less than a series of brilliant adjectives; beautiful, ground-breaking and ambitious. The game proves a worthy, and in some ways (which will be mentioned further on in the review) improved, successor of the Dreamcast classic Shenmue. Firstly, I am grateful for being born in London and thus, having the privilege of growing up with this game on my Dreamcast. I also owned the Xbox version and the only problem with it is the voice acting, and the fact that Shenmue was made for the Dreamcast. Other than that, Shenmue 2 is as flawless on the Xbox as on the Dreamcast.
There are so many layers to the game which make it worthy of its huge fan base. The game is very detailed and, quite simply put, well ahead of its time. It is difficult to find examples of games, even now, where you can enter pretty much every room in a building. In Shenmue 2, especially when you reach taller buildings, you would find that Yu Suzuki and the Shenmue team have put their hearts into creating such magnificent detail, whereby a 7-storey building has around 50 accessible rooms or how the forests toward the end of the game are so well designed. It may seem like nothing huge, but it is these little details which show how much effort was put into the game.
The music is equally as beautiful as the look of the game. The music created, like any other good game, is very appropriate in creating the right mood for the right part of the game, for example, the final boss fight is made even more epic by the music. However, for me personally, it wasn’t until the last part of the game, with its relaxing music, that I found out how beautiful the music in Shenmue 2 is and I can truly state that it is some of the best music that I have ever heard in a videogame.
Then we have the gameplay. Whilst some may criticise the pacing in the game, it should be stated from the outset that one should not play Shenmue 2 if they are not prepared to spend time thinking about how to advance in the game. The game’s free-questing is actually rather enjoyable and it seems amazing how you can talk to pretty much anyone. The fighting itself is similar to Shenmue 1 but there are new fighting moves as well as some of our favourites from Shenmue 1which are retained. The QTE is improved with the new pause-QTE method, whereby you must correspond correctly to a number of buttons in a row, on screen, quickly. This helps to create more exciting, fast paced fighting scenes where Ryo can throw a number of punches as opposed to one at a time.
Finally, the story in Shenmue 2 is the final aspect of the game which gives it the deserved ‘10/10’ rating. The story draws you in from the start of the game until the very end. I remember owning the demo, before getting the full version, and playing it over and over again. There is something about Shenmue which is addicting and leaves us hungry for more; Shenmue fans deserve that final fight with Ryo’s father’s killer, Lan Di.
It is this hunger which has kept us waiting for Shenmue 3 for all these years. Undoubtedly, Yu Suzuki created a masterpiece those 13 years ago and we gamers are still waiting, increasingly impatiently, for another one.…Expand

Shenmue II......
I own both the Dreamcast and XBOX version, i also own the first title, Shenmue II opens up what was already a masterpiece, and turns it the dial to 11.
More content than ever before, richer graphics, but not missing anything from the gameplay.
A stunning and enchanting game, a must have for anyone with a XBOX or Dreamcast console.

Overall, Shenmue is without doubt in my opinion the finest game ever made. Quite how Shenmue 1 and 2 stack up to one another is unclear to me, as they are both breathtaking and outstanding in their own ways.

It's simply magical. It's hard to truly do this game justice with words, but it is an immersive, exciting, poetic and captivating experience that you will most likely remember andOverall, Shenmue is without doubt in my opinion the finest game ever made. Quite how Shenmue 1 and 2 stack up to one another is unclear to me, as they are both breathtaking and outstanding in their own ways.

It's simply magical. It's hard to truly do this game justice with words, but it is an immersive, exciting, poetic and captivating experience that you will most likely remember and take with you forever.

The only possible flaw with Shenmue 2 is the occasional slowdown on Dreamcast I am unsure if it's been smoothed out for the Xbox version (quite likely).

This is probably the greatest game I've ever played, and I've played many. The story is absolutely fantastic, it carries on from Shenmue 1 on Ryo's quest to find Lan Di. It does a really great job at character building, It has some really emotional moments and engaging conversations with certain characters. The voice actors (at the time) were great, I fell in love with Shenhua's voice &This is probably the greatest game I've ever played, and I've played many. The story is absolutely fantastic, it carries on from Shenmue 1 on Ryo's quest to find Lan Di. It does a really great job at character building, It has some really emotional moments and engaging conversations with certain characters. The voice actors (at the time) were great, I fell in love with Shenhua's voice & character. The graphics are extremely beautiful, displaying various/diverse characters on-screen at once, and there's so much to do, I don't see how you will ever get bored of this. If you've played the original, or even if you haven't, you MUST play this game.…Expand

This is the single greatest gaming experience I have ever had. I was enthralled from start to finish, and the ending left me wanting more. The atmosphere is glorious, gameplay is solid, and story is phenomenal. Best game to ever grace this console easily...

This is the best game I have ever played and in hindsight provided experience that no other came close to providing. I would say it changed and shaped my life, something no other game was able to do. The problem is after you finish it, you realize what games could be like, but they arent. Playing it makes you imagine a world of amazing experiences told through games, that didn't materialize.

I must admit to being a big fan of Am2, and here they prove why. Shenmue II is (obviously) the sucessor of what I believe is the most original game to hit consoles since Nights into Dreams. After being blown away by the might of Shenmue, I must say my jaw has not yet lifted from playing part II. Every aspect of the game has been tweeked, or updated to offer a beautiful presentation. I I must admit to being a big fan of Am2, and here they prove why. Shenmue II is (obviously) the sucessor of what I believe is the most original game to hit consoles since Nights into Dreams. After being blown away by the might of Shenmue, I must say my jaw has not yet lifted from playing part II. Every aspect of the game has been tweeked, or updated to offer a beautiful presentation. I understand when people boast of the voice acting in this game being horrible, but no one seems to point out that the acting during cut scenes or from the main characters are actually decent. it's some of the city folks that need acting coaches and you dont really have to talk to them all that much. The visuals are top notch, considering it's a dreamcast port. My respect for Gamespot reviewers has dropped heavily because of their bias representation of this game. We ALL knew this was going to be a port with minor tweaks. Heck, being a journalist, these reviewers was the first to hear that fact from SEGA themselves. Yet they dont review a game for what the director was going for, or the crowd the game was intended for. They review only to compare to games of completely diffenent genres and styles. That said, I think the job of porting Shenmue II to the Xbox was done professionaly, Especially within a years time. I only expect more of a graphical improvement from a game that has been started from complete scratch, or given a few years to work on. Shenmue 3 (if it's in progress) would be a perfect example for me to expect anything close to virtua fighter 4 images. The extras in this game is enough to keep this CD in your xbox for a while. old school arcade games, pit fighting, gambling, arm wrestling, photos, and many more. Cool easter eggs hidden in the game to unlock more treasures hidden in the city! The concept of this game is far ahead of it's time, and I'm please to so far enjoy up to four or five chapters of it (Shenmue I and II). Shenmue offers the ability to fully explore, live, and adventure through a massive city of Hong Kong, and gives the player the ability to play the game at his or her own pace. There is SO much to do in this game, it hurts. Be warned that this is not your typical adventure/action game that's released each month for all consoles. Shenmue is a beautiful experience, that dosent force you into mindless incounters. The best description i can offer is what one reviewer said about the first game. Playing Shenmue is like relaxing on a Saturday reading a good novel. If you ARE looking for a comparison...(Sigh), ok...Imaging cenimatic/ Virtua fighter style fight sequences, Hong Kong action movies, Mix a little bit of mortal kombat's first movie (searching for fights), and the DEEP drama of an american hollywood movie, like say for example...Braveheart (dramatic musical scores). Speaking of Music, this game features some high quality dramatical scores, and sound effects that brings life to this virtual world. Buy this game, experience it, and (as i do) learn to appreciate quality, and originality from a game that offers a novel experience. BRAVO to an excellent production, and my hats off to AM2, SEGA, and Microsoft for bringing it here to America. …Expand

Shenmue II is a compelling, comprehensive sequel to a game that quite possibly was the most innovative of it's time. That's not to say that Shenmue II is extrememly innovative, or drastically different than the original. What you will get, is a new chapter to the very involving and exciting adventure of Ryo Hazuki. What is presented has been tweaked, upgraded and fine-tuned to Shenmue II is a compelling, comprehensive sequel to a game that quite possibly was the most innovative of it's time. That's not to say that Shenmue II is extrememly innovative, or drastically different than the original. What you will get, is a new chapter to the very involving and exciting adventure of Ryo Hazuki. What is presented has been tweaked, upgraded and fine-tuned to be a great adventure experience. Everything about Shenmue II feels better, faster, and more involved than the original. Graphically, the game looks largely the same, which is a good or bad thing depending on how you viewed the first game. Shenmue was one of the first games that featured a sprawling, fully interactive world, AND looked good enough for some braeth-takingly stunning close-ups. And that was on Dreamcast! Shenmue II features many of the same models and textures, but thanks to some new lighting effects and filters, this incarnation seems to breathe life. The world, at times, does not seem as convincingly live as say, vice city, but I'd atribute that more to the fact that shenmue is a paced adventure, while vice city is a rampant action romp; users have more time to look, see, and touch the world, thus they're bound to pick up on the rougher edges. I think some reviewers are a bit jaded with the fact that Shenmue II was pulled from American Dreamcasts, yet released in Europe. Further, this Xbox version is largely the same as that Dreamcast release, dated a year prior. I think some reviewers may be compelled to write mediocre reviews regarding this game because of the cercumstances. But I think they're missing the point, and relying on bias to write a review for them. Shenmue II, while not as groundbreaking as the original, continues a tradition of making games outside the box; of presenting gameplay that's unique and fun, and challenging. And that's more important than all the bump-mapping in the world. By jlinn01…Expand

This has to be the worst game ever created. Perhaps there was an engrossing story behind it, but I never got past the annoying "jobs" and horrible voice-overs to care. I made the mistake of getting a part-time job dropping a marble and watching it bounce through nails repeatedly for over 5 minutes... borrrring. I wouldn't recommend this game to an enemy.

OK so its a very impressive games in some respects...yes it's hugely detailed, spacially large and everyone says something different, whoppee bloody dooo! I can enjoy the game dependent on the mood i'm in but it does irritate with its pathetic control system and it can bore you rigid at times as well... Ah well.... not bad if you like that sort of thing.

LOVE this game... It should be game of the year. Other than the graphics, everything is perfect. Everything you ever want in a RPG game. Recommend it to anyone. The only thing is I wish Yu Sazuki make the 3rd one come out sooner or tell us when it's gonna be available. He shouldn't leave us hanging like this!

For me, this is the best video game ever made. Simple as that. No game has given me as much meaningfull pleasure as this one. There are not enough kind words to lavish upon this title. If you miss out on the Shenmue experience, then you will be missing out on video game history. Emotional...

Pros: +Beautiful, detailed graphics, despite that it was originally made for the Dreamcast. +More action all around. +More minigames. +Ryo has multiple ways to earn money. +Comes with Shenmue the Movie, that details the events of the first game. Cons: -Short. You can beat it within a rental. -Fighting in a latter part of the game was simply a little frustrating, since they decided to use Pros: +Beautiful, detailed graphics, despite that it was originally made for the Dreamcast. +More action all around. +More minigames. +Ryo has multiple ways to earn money. +Comes with Shenmue the Movie, that details the events of the first game. Cons: -Short. You can beat it within a rental. -Fighting in a latter part of the game was simply a little frustrating, since they decided to use some odd, quasi first-person camera angle. -Story is lackluster and not as engaging as in the first game; ***SPOILER ALERT!!*** Youdontaccomplishanything; Bytheendofthegameyouarestilllookingforwhoyoucametofind ***End of spoiler*** -Just plain tedious. -The world is bigger, but there is actually less to explore than in the first game Overall: If you haven't played the first Shenmue, don't bother starting the series with 2. If you have, though, or are still interested in the game (since my review is about the only bad one), rent it. You will be able to beat the game and do just about everything within the rental period.…Expand

Shenmue 2 is the best game I've ever played. This game has not only a compelling story, but cool action scenes, addicting gameplay, 2 huge cities to explore, hundreds of people to talk to, hundreds of stores to visit, and very many awesome fights, and QTE's. (Quick Time Events.) Shenmue 2 is a much better game than the original, and RPG fans, action/adventure game fans, and Shenmue 2 is the best game I've ever played. This game has not only a compelling story, but cool action scenes, addicting gameplay, 2 huge cities to explore, hundreds of people to talk to, hundreds of stores to visit, and very many awesome fights, and QTE's. (Quick Time Events.) Shenmue 2 is a much better game than the original, and RPG fans, action/adventure game fans, and maybe even fighting game fans should definitely check this game out.…Expand

Awesome game, the best I've ever played with an immersive story. Whoever said this game is boring doesn't get the point of the game and should go back to watching Rambo. Buy this game and a dreamcast with the first for a few £'s/$'s, you will not be disappointed.

I never got to play the first Shenmue because at the time it came out I was mainly a PC gamer. But all this hype surrounding Shenmue II got me interested, and though I probably should have started with the first game, I bought the sequel on Friday. Well, my first impression when I started playing the game was that the graphics weren't too great. Yes, I knew beforehand that this was a I never got to play the first Shenmue because at the time it came out I was mainly a PC gamer. But all this hype surrounding Shenmue II got me interested, and though I probably should have started with the first game, I bought the sequel on Friday. Well, my first impression when I started playing the game was that the graphics weren't too great. Yes, I knew beforehand that this was a Dreamcast port, but since most recently I've been playing Star Fox and The Two Towers, two really great looking games, I was kind of disappointed. After all, graphics always make the first impression. Anyways, I decided to keep playing the game since I might as well make use of my $50. I wont lie to you. If you're a graphics whore, you will no doubt be initially disappointed with Shenmue II, and I was. But I kept playing, and even though I hadn't played the first game, I was suddenly drawn in by the story. I love the way this game was designed. It's as if you are living inside of an anime or a Japanese film. I know that the graphics look nothing like anime, but the feeling of the game is almost the same. The story and the dialogue, the camera angles, the music, everything. Playing Shenmue II is like participating in another culture. It is just so honest and accurate about the tiniest details that you can't help but feel immersed in the world. I've never played a game that could do this so well. Here are some things that I love about Shenmue II: - You can talk to pretty much every person you see throughout the game, and they always say different things. In most games, after a while you can pretty much start to predict what NPCs will say to you, but this game has so much variety that you can never be sure what to expect. It's great, because I never feel like skipping the dialogue, and it just makes it feel like I'm living in a real city with real people. - You can look into the distance and always see people going about their daily tasks. You might zoom (with the L trigger) through a fence and see some children playing in their yard in the distance, or you will see people gambling at the Lucky Hit stands. You'll see pedestrians walking about, walking into stores, going to eat at a restaurant, etc. Of if you walk into a store, sometimes there will be people shopping inside, looking through the goods in the store. I honestly don't think there's a single game out there that comes close to this level of detail. - You can walk into pretty much any building or store you see, and each one is unique and elaborately detailed. I rented Vice City the same day I bought Shenmue and VC is so inferior in this regard that it's almost embarassing. Even though Shenmue's graphics aren't taking full advantage of the Xbox hardware, when I walk into a store in Shenmue there is enough detail and the artwork is so awesome that I actually feel like I'm in a real place. - *** Minor Spoilers *** Shenmue II amazes me in its efforts to avoid being repetitive. Yesterday I was letting my 11 year old cousin play. He had been watching me play for over an hour and was totally intrigued by the game, so I let him start a new game. Well, he got to the part where the boy named Wong steals your backpack and you have to find him to get it back. My cousin asked the townspeople if they had seen Wong, and they pointed him to the park with the fountain. Then my cousin confronted Wong and started chasing him through the alleys. Ok, well this is one of the first parts in the game and it's really easy. I beat it on my first try, but my cousin didn't. So I figured, like in most games, that we just had to go back to the fountain, find Wong again, and start the whole thing over again. But WTH, he wasn't there. I was beginning to think it was a glitch or something, but we tried asking the townspeople again and they said that they saw Wong running about somewhere else! OMG, I couldn't believe my ears. So we followed the clues and found Wong outside of a restaurant with his friends, and he had just bought himself some food with the money he stole from my backpack. So my cousin chased him again and this time he succeeded, but since we were starting at a different location, the chase scene was different. Wow, can you believe that? This is one of the first parts of the game and it's really easy, so probably 75% of the people who play will win on their first try. But the developers felt it necessary to add the alternate sequence just in case, and it pays off tremendously. And if this is just the beginning of the game, imagine what the rest is like. - Signs are extremely readable and useful. If I was in Hong Kong I would probably spend a lot of time reading signs and figuring my way around. Shenmue II makes this really easy because every single store (and there are just hundreds of them) has a sign and the textures are very high resolution so you can read them from far away. Also, zoom in on any sign and Ryo will read the sign out loud. - Shenmue II achieves a perfect balance between gameplay and cut scenes. You never feel like skipping a cut scene because they are always the perfect length and always serve their purpose. - You would think that with all this detail that the game would be frustrating and overwhelming, but the game is designed in such a way that it customizes itself to better suit the player. One example was the story about my cousin playing, but another example would be that the fights are customized depending on your skill level. - If you ever get lost in the huge city (and at first you definitely will), you can ask anyone for help. Sometimes the person might not be a local, so they won't be able to help you, but most people will give you directions. And the directions are so detailed. The townsfolk will speak out actual directions, like for example, "You see that butcher's shop over there? (and the camera points over) Take a left there and keep going until you get to the next street. Then take a right and look for the blue sign with white letters." But that was just this one person; if I would have asked someone else, he would have given me directions with different wording. That's the kind of detail you can expect, and also there are townsfolk that will just take you to your destination. All in all, I can say that this is a terrific game for anyone who likes immersive games. Shenmue II is the king of detail. Unfortunately, this means I'm gonna have to postpone playing Vice City for a while because I'm gonna find myself comparing it to Shenmue, and it just doesn't hold a candle to Shenmue in the detail department. Note: I played GTA3 all the way to the end and enjoyed it very much, mostly because it was a very immersive experience. But now I have different standards, and if I'm looking to get enjoyment out of Vice City, I'll have to remind myself to focus on the action elements. By marco0782…Expand

This game has to be one of the best RPG's i have ever played! The first shenmue came out for the dreamcast, i was glued to the TV with that, it was brilliant. The story is great, and graphics wern't so good ont he dreamcast but are greatly improved on the xbox, and the amount of gameplay on the 1 disk for the xbox is phenomenal, it just keeps on going. I thought they makers This game has to be one of the best RPG's i have ever played! The first shenmue came out for the dreamcast, i was glued to the TV with that, it was brilliant. The story is great, and graphics wern't so good ont he dreamcast but are greatly improved on the xbox, and the amount of gameplay on the 1 disk for the xbox is phenomenal, it just keeps on going. I thought they makers would be stingy and stop if after hong kong. But they don't. And by doing this it really gives you alot of game for your buck.…Collapse

This game is so cool i cant stop playing it! I had to get xbox for this game only and 2 others. Anyway i hope they make another one so this game dosen't really deserve a 10 it deserves a 100!!!!!!!!! Martino Abed

Shenmue and Shenmue 2 are some of the best games ever! I have to give props to the creator and cast that made these games. This awsome game deserves a 100,000,000,000,000! Not only was it fun I also learned a lot about Japan and China. Anyone who gave these games less than a seven are LOSERS!!!!!!!! I hope that there will be a Shenmue 3 and that it will come out sooooon!!! Thank you Yu Shenmue and Shenmue 2 are some of the best games ever! I have to give props to the creator and cast that made these games. This awsome game deserves a 100,000,000,000,000! Not only was it fun I also learned a lot about Japan and China. Anyone who gave these games less than a seven are LOSERS!!!!!!!! I hope that there will be a Shenmue 3 and that it will come out sooooon!!! Thank you Yu Sasuke for creating such an awsome game! I hope you see this.…Expand

Technically, the Xbox conversion of Shenmue 2 is a pot-pourri of highs and lows. Visually, it's two notches above its DC brother (AM2 have attached light sources to EVERYTHING - moreso at night, where neon bathes you in its "afterglow") but two notches below what the system is capable of.

Rarely has so much sheer brilliance been nestled side-by-side with such absolute tedium and badly conceived gameplay, along with wild shifts in tone guaranteed to make your head spin. [Winter 2002, p.88]